West Kingsdown resident Johnboy Smith has been selected to represent Team GB at the Paralympics in Tokyo in September. He will compete in the T54 marathon, an event he has excelled at in recent years, including a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast.
In June this year he recorded a new personal best of 1:25:45 when he won the 45th Grandma’s marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, and he will be looking to take that form on to Tokyo when he competes on Sunday 5th September at the Olympic Stadium.
Johnboy broke the news on his Facebook page in July, saying: “BREAKING NEWS! I have been selected to complete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the T54 marathon event! It’s been a long to coming. Lots of sacrifices and time dedicated to this, but I’ve never been relieved to be selected! Thank you to all who have supported me along the journey!”
• T54 is the classification for disability athletics in the track events. The class includes people with spinal cord injuries who compete using a wheelchair in track events.
